Obama moves forward with ammo ban

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is proposing a change to their exemption framework that will, if adopted, result in the prohibition of 5.56mm “green tip” ammunition.

The Gun Control Act of 1968, as modified by the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1986, prohibits the import, manufacture and distribution of armor-piercing ammunition that may be fired from a handgun.

Armor-piercing ammunition is defined in statute as “a projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of trace other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium; or a full-jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.”

The Law Enforcement Protection Act of 1986 provided the Attorney General with the authority to exempt ammunition “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes” from the prohibition.

In 1986, the bureau issued an exemption for 5.56mm SS198 and M855 green-tip ammunition. This ammunition is commonly used in .223-caliber AR-type rifles.

The exemption was issued because the ammunition, at that time, was predominantly a rifle ammunition and hence not covered under the Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act.

Since that time, however, a number of handguns have become commercially available which are capable of firing the .223-caliber green-tip ammunition.

The bureau explained this in its “Framework for Deciding Sporting Purpose Ammunition” statement released Feb. 13. “As a result of the availability of these handguns, however, some conventional rifle ammunition now falls within the statutory definition and is properly classified as ‘armor-piercing ammunition,’ despite the fact that the ammunition itself has not changed.”

The framework being proposed by the bureau is to provide an exemption for .22-caliber cartridges that would otherwise meet the definition of armor-piercing ammunition “if the projectile weighs 40 grains or less AND is loaded into a rimfire cartridge.”

For all other projectiles, the only exemption would be if “the projectile is loaded into a cartridge for which the only handgun that is readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade is a single shot handgun.”

In the framework notice, the agency stated the exemptions for SS109 and M855 ammunition were granted prior to the proliferation of commercially-available handguns capable of firing the ammunition. The availability of handguns is what has prompted then new framework and, consequently, the removal of the previously-granted sporting exemptions.

“To ensure consistency, upon final implementation of the sporting purpose framework outlined above, ATF must withdraw the exemptions for 5.56mm ‘green-tip’ ammunition, including both the SS109 and M855 cartridges,” the document read.

The question is the purpose for which the ammunition was intended. Sportsmen, like Marbut, argue the ammunition was made for rifles and used predominantly in rifles for decades. Hence, the intent is a sporting purpose use.

The bureau argues the proliferation of handguns capable of firing the ammunition alters the intent of the ammunition’s manufacturers, making the intent more nefarious – ammunition that can be fired from an easily concealed weapons and which is capable of penetrating the soft body armor worn by most law enforcement officers.

Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe disagrees with the decision. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “There’s probably enough out there already that a ban isn’t going to do much, and if someone really wants to kill a cop, they’ll find another bullet.”

Montana Shooting Sports Association president Gary Marbut also opposes the rule change. In his eyes, it’s a back-door move from the Obama administration in reaction to their failure to pass an assault weapons ban.

They couldn’t get the bill through Congress, he said, so they’re redefining things in order to get what they want. “They’re trying to ban what is probably the most common ammunition for the most common rifle in America. We think it’s improper and illegal,” Marbut said. “And probably fattening and immoral as well,” he added jokingly.

His solution is for Congress to revisit the 1986 legislation and provide a definition for “sporting purposes” that doesn’t leave as much ground open to interpretation.

The idea of congressional involvement may not be too far-fetched. Rep. Ryan Zinke, Montana’s member of the House of Representatives, recently joined more than 100 other members of congress in sending a letter to Director Todd Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives urging him to reconsider the framework change.

The public comment period for the proposed rule change ends March 16, after which the bureau will issue its final decision on the framework and the exemptions allowed under it.